Falling In
by Megaman-NT-Warrior
Summary: 100 Fanfic Prompt Challenge: Spanning Jake Simmonds life, from before the Cybermen to after Rose's return in 'Journey's End'.
1. I Hope You Said Goodbye

Title: I Hope You Said Goodbye  
>Fandom: Doctor Who<br>Characters: Jake Simmonds, Mickey Smith, Martha Jones, Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams  
>Prompt: 092. Christmas<br>Wordcount: 2,687  
>Rating: T<br>Summary: Jack decides to throw a Christmas party for the members of Torchwood and U.N.I.T. to help cope with all that's happened in the last year and Gwen introduces Torchwood's newest member: this universes' version of Jake. Mickey is haunted by memories of his life in the parallel universe and contemplates his choice of leaving as Jack gets closer to Jake.

Author Notes: Set after 'Journey's End' and in the original universe. Spoilers for Doctor Who episodes: Rise of the Cybermen, Age of Steel, Journey's End, and a small part of The End of Time Part 2. Minor spoilers for how Torchwood Season 2 and Children of Earth ended.

This was previously uploaded onto my livejournal account but has since been taken down because I wanted to upload it here instead. There's a link to my prompt table on my profile.

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><p>I Hope You Said Goodbye<p>

"So, a Torchwood/U.N.I.T. Christmas party, whatever will you think of next, Jack?" Mickey Smith asked as the Captain in question picked up his third glass of the spiked eggnog. The newly rebuilt Torchwood headquarters was festooned with Christmas garlands and sprigs of mistletoe. The members of both teams milled about, talking, laughing, and drinking. There was lots of drinking.

"It's been a tough year for all of us; I thought we deserved a nice party."

"Besides," Gwen added as she slipped in between the two men to get at the punch bowl. "We're also welcoming a new member into Torchwood. We can't keep it going with just me, Jack, and Rhys." Jack downed the rest of his glass at the sombre note in her tone and Mickey realised that what Jack had really wanted with this party was a chance to drink himself into oblivion and have no one judge him for it. Mickey would be concerned for the man's safety; if there had been any chance of him actually being harmed by the inevitable alcohol poisoning. Mickey decided to try his normal tactic; lightening with mood with a joke.

"So she finally bullied you into making Rhys a full member of the team, eh? Good for you Gwen." She laughed, Jack didn't. That was a good sign to back off. "So, this new guy, what's he do that got him into Torchwood?"

"Surveillance and infiltration mainly. But I found him in an art school in London so he'll probably have a nice steady hand with a gun; once we've trained him up a bit," Gwen said, ignoring Jack's grimace. "It was my job to find a new recruit so Jack and Rhys haven't actually met him yet."

"Art school, really? I said: look at the medical schools or people with police training. What's next? A musician who thinks we can sooth the alien with a nice guitar ballad?"

"If you'll stop turning your nose up at it, I'll tell you how the interview went."

"What did he think he was being interviewed for?" Mickey asked, he couldn't help but smile at the expression on Jack's face. He was still stuck on the fact that he'd soon be working with someone whose only training consisted of painting and sculpting.

"Special ops. It's quite easy to put the ad up: looking for people who are athletic, good with computers, and first aid training is a must."

"Gwen we need more than first aid; we need a new doctor."

"Would you let me finish?" Gwen said forcefully as she took the newest cup of eggnog from his hand. "And you need to go more slowly on those. So I start getting calls and no one fits the bill but two days ago this guy calls me and says that he's in his second year of college and he knows he won't be eligible for the job post because he's rubbish at computers. So I'm about to go off on him for wasting my time when he asks me if we could use someone for surveillance because he's pretty good at getting into places undetected. I'd pulled up his records when he'd told me his name; no criminal history and a clean medical record. Said he was in Cardiff for the holiday, that's how he saw my ad, so I asked him to meet me in the pub in an hour for an interview." Gwen smiled slyly at the two of them. "That's where it gets interesting. Twenty minutes after I get off the phone there's a tap on my shoulder and I find a skinny blond bloke standing behind me telling me that our security needs an upgrade."

"What?" Jack seized her by the shoulders.

"I know; that was my reaction too. Traced the call and got in without the system noticing. To be fair we hadn't gotten everything back online at that point. It is now but I'm still glad that he's on our side. And yes, I've already scanned him; he's not an alien or anything."

"So when do I get to meet him?" Jack asked in a clipped tone just as Gwen's mobile went off.

"Right now actually, he's just arrived. Everyone, I'd like to introduce the newest member of Torchwood, Jake Simmonds." As soon as she'd said it Mickey was sure he'd heard her wrong but as the main door slid open and Gwen ran over to the young man who had just stepped through there could be no question. He had the same spiky blond hair, the same smile, the same _laugh_. The only difference that he could see from where he was standing was the stark lack of battle-hard weariness. It made Mickey want to tell this boy to run, just take the retcon pill and never look back. To save him from seeing all the pain and death that went along with these jobs.

Was this how his Jake had looked at him back when they'd first met? Was this what he had looked like when Jake was comparing him to Ricky? So naive and free of battle scars yet longing to help and make a difference. Longing to be the hero?

And when exactly had he become _his_ Jake?

"Is there something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." He nearly jumped when Martha slid next to him and took his hand in hers. "He's quiet the looker, isn't he? You know, if you jumped ship to Torchwood they'd have all the handsome men in our business." He may have smiled at that but he wasn't sure; his body had chosen that moment to go numb with shock. His only consolation was that Jack seemed to be just as mesmerized as he was; though, knowing Jack, it was probably for a completely different reason.

It didn't help of course that Gwen decided that now would be a good time to drag him over for introductions. "I'd like you to meet Sergeant Mickey Smith and Doctor Martha Jones of U.N.I.T. and Captain Jack Harkness." Mickey was suddenly on auto-pilot, gravitating towards the firm handshake and warm smile that was so familiar to him.

"Oh so you're the boss." Mickey couldn't help the stab of jealousy that coursed through him when Jack's smile widened and his hand lingered a little too long on Jake's. It was illogical of course; he was getting married to the beautiful, smart woman who was standing right next to him and this man was in all honestly a complete stranger to him. But old habits die hard.

"Yeah, I'm defiantly the guy you've got to sleep with to get a promotion." Mickey actually hit him, noticing the way Jake's cheeks coloured at the comment but by the look he was giving Jack he didn't seem to mind how forward his new boss was.

"He's kidding," Gwen said quickly, her voice deadpan. "Honestly, if we promoted everyone he had sex with we'd have all our high level jobs filled with unqualified people."

Oh, god, how he missed that laugh.

"And to think, a week ago I was planning on being a wedding photographer."

"Really?" Martha asked, grinning in excitement. "We're getting married in a month and we haven't been able to find anyone to take the pictures who is within our budget." The panic he felt at the announcement shouldn't have happened; he wasn't ashamed of being with Martha and it didn't matter that Jake knew that they were getting married.

"Yeah, I'd love to do it."

_I love you, Mickey Smith._

Jake and Martha were talking, about what he wasn't quite sure but the two of them were still smiling and Jake was still laughing that oh so familiar laugh and his heart ached to remember it.

_I love you too; now give me back my jacket! I have to go._

He couldn't help but notice that Jack had moved; farther away from the alcohol that had been his shield throughout the night and closer to Jake. And then the jealousy started again; and it wasn't tempered by Martha gently squeezing his hand and her concerned look.

_Why do you have to go? Rose can handle herself._

Martha's engagement ring was pressing into his hand, cold and hard in contrast to the warmth of her hand. He was in love with Martha and she was wonderful. He shouldn't be feeling guilty about that. But that didn't stop him.

_I'm not going to let my best friend head off to face the end of the world without me. And don't give me that look. You know you're the only one we trust with control over Torchwood while we're gone. I'll be back here before you know it, safe and sound in your arms._

"I'm really glad that I'm working here full time now; I'd be terribly jealous with you working around all these attractive young men all day," Rhys was saying, his arm around Gwen; did she give him that cup when she was filling her own or did he get it for himself?

"Rhys, Jake's gay!" Gwen laughed, playfully hitting him. "Besides, he's too young for me anyway."

"That doesn't seem to be stopping Jack."

When had the two of them left? Jack had pulled Jake into the centre of the dance floor and was holding him far closer than was appropriate for an employer. And from the way Jake was stumbling as he was led and the red flush rising across his cheeks it was obvious that Jack had gotten him to try the eggnog.

_Alright, alright, go be brilliant and save the universe. I'll be waiting._

"Mickey, are you alright? You look like you're about to faint." Martha was holding a hand against the side of his head; her worried expression filling his vision. "Maybe you should go lay down or something. Let me get you a glass of water."

"No I need to talk to Jack."

"He's a little busy at the moment."

He didn't particularly care at this point; all he could focus on was how close Jack's lips were to Jake's ear and how the blond laughed at whatever he was being told. Hadn't Gwen made Jack's reputation quite clear earlier? How could Jake let him hold him that close?

"Jack, sorry to interrupt," Mickey said shortly, pulling on Jack's shoulder and not particularly caring that he didn't sound very sorry at all. His main objective was to stop Jack's left hand from sliding any farther up the back of Jake's shirt. "Could I have a word in private? It's about the next mission Torchwood and U.N.I.T. are running together."

"Mick, it's Christmas, give work a rest for the evening and relax. Dance with Martha, have a drink, you deserve it."

"Please, Jack? It's important. It won't take long." He wondered briefly if Jack could hear how desperate that sounded in his own head. The look Jack shot at Jake reminded Mickey of the way he looked when Gwen would take his third bottle of rum away at the end of one of his low days. The lost puppy look he gave when they'd take away one of his safety mechanisms. Mickey had never seen him this way, not even when he was facing down the end of the world. Another reason for what he was doing right now.

"I'm sure I can fend for myself for ten minutes," Jake said brightly, finally slipping out of Jack's arms. "I'm going to go raid the snack table, I didn't have dinner."

"Alright, come on Mickey, what do you need to talk to me about?" Jack grumbled, reluctantly heading up the stairs towards his office. Once the door had shut behind them Jack turned to him looking almost murderous. "What exactly is so important? Because I know you saw me dancing with the cute new guy and you wouldn't interrupt that without a really good reason, right?"

"I think the way you're acting around Jake is wholly inappropriate because you're in a position of power over him," Mickey said quickly. There, that should be a valid reason for Jack to stay away from him. Right?

"Really, you've dragged me up here, away from my own party, and from a guy I'm more than a little attracted to, to tell me that you disapprove? Honestly? And not only do you disapprove, it's only because the two of us work together. You don't see me criticizing you and Martha."

"I'm not Martha's superior!"

"No, she's yours. So you're either the world's biggest hypocrite or there's something else that's bothering you. So put it up or shut up and stay out of my business."

"What about Ianto?" He really hadn't wanted to play the dead boyfriend card and the flash of pain across Jack's face reminded him why. It was a low blow but he needed to get his point across.

"Ianto," Jack said, slowly and carefully, grasping the edge of his desk. "Ianto was the most beautiful person I have ever met in my entire life and I loved him more than anyone. He is the person I could see myself settling down with. But I also buried him over a month ago. That life is no longer a possibility and I am grieving that every day. Don't you think that I'm not. But wallowing in grief and being alone for the rest of my life isn't something that _Ianto_ would have wanted me to do. _He_ would have wanted me to move on and try for some semblance of normality. So, Mickey, I need you to look me in the eye and tell me what is wrong."

"Back in Pete's World," Mickey said softly, watching Jack visibly relax and sit back into his desk chair. "The parallel world where Rose is. There's a Jake there and we worked together to fight the cybermen."

"So you're mad because I'm making moves on the guy who looks like you're best friend?"

"If I was still there, if I hadn't stayed in this universe, it would be our two year anniversary." To Jack's credit he didn't make a big deal out of the soft admission; he gave him a level look that only asked him to continue. "It's been five months and tonight just sent me right back. Every time I look at you hitting on him all I can think about is that's my boyfriend and you shouldn't be touching him."

"If you still feel that way about Jake, why are you here? Why are you marrying Martha? Why didn't you go back to him when the Doctor took Rose home?" Mickey didn't answer; there was no answer to those questions, at least not ones he could come up with at that moment. "So let me tell you something. That man out there; he isn't the Jake you know, he isn't your friend or your boyfriend or your ex-boyfriend or whoever Jake is to you. He's not your Jake. You made your choice Mickey and you have to live with that choice. I hope you at least said goodbye to him."

Mickey let Jack walk past at that point, what else could he do? He had said goodbye of course. But it had been a 'bye, I'll see you when I get back'; it wasn't a final goodbye by any stretch. He hadn't planned on leaving for good.

When he walked out of the office himself it was to find Jack leading Jake under one of the hanging pieces of mistletoe. He heard Rhys' catcall whistle and Gwen's happy laugh as Jack pressed a soft kiss to the other man's lips. Jake was happy, grinning and blushing in Jack's arms.

"Hey, isn't it great that Jack will have someone to spend Christmas with?" Martha asked as she kissed Mickey on the cheek. "Life's been tough on him, more than any of us. I didn't want him to be alone for the holiday."

"Yeah, they look happy," Mickey said softly, watching as someone dimmed the lights and put on a slow song. "Do you want to dance?"


	2. A World Through Glass

Title: A World Through Glass

Fandom: Doctor Who

Characters: Jake Simmonds, Rose Tyler, Ricky Smith, Mickey Smith, Meta-Crisis Ten (John Smith), Owen Harper

Prompt: 040 Sight

Word Count: 2,040

Rating: K+

Summary: Jake's always had a passion for photography; he looks back on the last few years of his life while Rose tries to get him to look ahead to the coming one.

Author's Notes: Set after 'Journey's End', refers to events from before 'Rise of the Cybermen', and after 'Age of Steel' and 'Doomsday'.

A World Through Glass

He had spent a great deal of his life looking at the world through the lens of a camera. Even before he'd become the Preacher's go to surveillance guy he'd always preferred to observe proceedings rather than actively participate in them. He'd started photography in high school and gotten involved in the school's yearbook in his grade twelve; even entertained the idea of a career in film after taking a course in video editing. But that was before the cybermen. Before the Preachers. Before the Doctor. Before Paris. Before _Mickey_.

Before a time where all he had left of Ricky was a stranger's face and old photographs. Back to a time when they'd just been two stupid teenagers; completely in love and making grand plans for a future that would never happen.

Now he would deny it, and deny it until he was blue in the face, that he had volunteered to cover the sports teams for the yearbook just so he could take pictures of Ricky. That had just been a happy coincidence. The photo album he had hidden in the back of the van was filled with pictures from their last year of high school. Most of them were of sports events; Ricky, ever the athlete, was in everything from football to swim team.

Ricky's friends on the football team used to call him the paparazzi when he'd show up at their games, camera in hand. No matter how much they'd grip and complain both Jake and Ricky knew that none of them were really bothered by it. They were pleased that Ricky was happy, even if it was with the artistic loner none of them knew very well.

One of Jake's favourite pictures was from when they were in high school; Ricky and his best friend Adam standing on the football pitch seats, still drunk from the triumph of their recent victory. It was the last game they'd win for that season and not long after they'd be graduating; Adam left to study at a Spanish university and Jake and Ricky stayed in London, working for a mechanic.

They had lived together for a few years after that; in a small flat a few blocks from the repair shop. That was when Lumic and Cybus Industries came to power. Jake wasn't sure when exactly they had become the Preachers; he was able to put the video camera Ricky had gotten him for his last birthday to good use as a surveillance tool. He was the last of the Preachers and ended up traveling Europe with the twin of his murdered lover.

He didn't have many pictures of Mickey. He had a few of course, pasted onto the back couple pages of his photo album, from when they had first tried at a tentative relationship; Mickey lying on the beach in the French Rivera, thrown into sharp relief from the exploding cyber factory in Rome, soaking wet and laughing from falling in a canal in Venice. But that had become too painful. To take away Mickey's personality, take away his goofy cheerfulness, capture him on still film. Do all that and there was nothing left that made him different from Ricky. It wasn't that he didn't want Ricky back, Jake would do almost anything to save him, but he didn't want Mickey to take his place. He didn't ever want to look back on these pictures and wonder who was who.

That didn't mean that Jake stopped using his video camera though; Mickey stayed Mickey as long as he was talking, moving. Jake had never found himself as the type of person to take pictures of things or landscapes and traveling with just Mickey didn't offer him many human subjects so his camera got packed in the back of the van and the rest of their trip around Europe was logged on video.

It wasn't until after the battle of Canary Warf that he started taking still pictures again. This time his primary subject was Rose Tyler; the young woman who had been rapidly developing into his best and closest friend. Through the lens of his camera he saw and learned her different smiles; when she was genuinely happy or when she was hiding something that she found funny or when she was trying to fool everyone around her into thinking she was alright. He had filled a new album with pictures of Rose and her family, his family.

He was happy and content again; felt like a teenager again, confident about the future and ready for anything. Confident about this life with Mickey, his boyfriend, someday maybe his husband.

But that was before the end of the world. That was before Dalig Ulv Stranden. That was before he stood in the wind and the wet sand watching only three people walk out of the Doctor's little blue box.

He decided to put his camera away for good.

He didn't want to remember this. Didn't want to _see_.

Rose had stayed with him then, leaving John with their department of Torchwood, giving back to Jake the time he had spent with her when she was grieving the loss of her Doctor. She was angry and sad and grieving when he couldn't be. When all he wanted to do was curl up and be numb, to forget.

But life had to go on. Rose had given him a month off from work, around the same amount of time she had taken before she started at Torchwood, but he never ended up taking it; he loved Jackie dearly, she was the Mum his deadbeat mother had never managed to be, but there were only so many hours of the day that he could handle her fussing over him. He needed the distraction of work even if it was tackling the mountain of paperwork that had built itself up on his desk.

"Hey, I got you your favourite," Rose said brightly, dropping the Chinese takeout bag on the bed beside him. It had become a frequent ritual of theirs in the past month; locking themselves in either his or Rose's room with some kind of takeout and a couple beers each and settled down for a chat long into the night. They had started out talking about Mickey and the Doctor, Jake venting the frustration that had been building up over the past year and Rose expressing her concern over her lost lover's well being, but lately they had gravitated towards less serious topics like work or family or Rose's engagement to John. Rose was the next thing to hit the bed beside him, curling an arm around his and resting her chin on his shoulder so she could look at the album that he had spread open on his lap. "We should have that rebound; we don't want it falling apart. They're beautiful, but you don't seem to be in very many of them."

"I don't really like being in pictures," Jake said quietly, setting the book on the floor beside him as Rose handed him a paper plate and a set of chopsticks.

"Are they all of Ricky?" Rose asked gently, watching his face for signs of when to drop it; they had talked quite a bit about Mickey to allow Jake some closure but she had stayed away from the topic of Jake's dead lover.

"Not all of them; I did have other friends at school you know," Jake said, his playful tone not quite hiding the pain behind the words but the smile on his face was genuine when she placed a warm hand on his knee. "I like taking pictures of people; there are some of you in the other book."

"I never see you with your camera anymore. I mean, you always have it with you or it's on your desk at work but I haven't seen you use it in a long time." She reached across him to pick the camera off his bedside table. It was the high tech digital one that her parents had bought for him last Christmas. The quick flash of panic across his face as he caught her hand on the way back surprised her. Jake took the camera from her hands and quickly took her picture.

"I still use it, just not as much. We've been busy at work so I haven't had as much time." He tried to put the camera away while she was distracted by the flash of the bulb but she took it from him again and flicked the switch to view the pictures. "Rose!"

"I just want to look," Rose said, pouting as she deleted the rather unflattering picture of herself at the front of the camera's memory. The expression faded into one of surprise when she saw the person in the next image: Dr. Harper. Jake had caught the shy doctor at his desk, peering intently at a clipboard over his glasses. She glanced up at Jake after clicking through the next few pictures; he looked like he was going to be sick. "They're all of Owen, aren't they?"

"You don't have to tell me that it's creepy, just give it back," Jake said in a tone the bordered on cold but didn't faze Rose in the least. She knew him too well to not know that this is how he reacted when he got defensive.

"You like him." It wasn't a question and the look in her brown eyes was anything but disapproving.

"I barely know him." Jake was back stepping in the conversation as quickly as he could and reached for the camera again but Rose held it out of his reach.

"That's because you barely talk to the poor man; the only time you let him near you is when some alien has injured you. You should ask him out for coffee or something. I know he likes you; he's getting more and more obvious about it. I think even John's noticed and you know how he is with picking up on signals."

"No, I couldn't." Jake's voice was quiet and shocked, as if he was unsure how she could possibly suggest such a thing.

"Why not? And tell me seriously, not just some excuse like you're his boss so it's inappropriate because nobody around here cares about that; have you ever seen the guys downstairs in accounting, every time I go down there for new paperwork they're just done snogging. Tell me honestly. Because these," Rose said, holding up the camera. "Are beautiful and I know you only take pictures like this of the people that you really care about."

"I can't," Jake said fiercely, picking up their food decisively. "Eat your chow mien."

"Jake, Owen's not Mickey," Rose said softly, placing her hands on his to stop him from moving the containers as he nearly spilled one of them. "He's not the kind of guy who's going to just run off to a parallel universe without mentioning it to anyone. You have to give yourself permission to be happy again."

"I am happy."

"Then why are you crying?" Rose asked gently as Jake jerked back and passed a hand across his cheeks. He looked away trying to regain some composure.

"I can't do it again, Rose. I can't go through that again. I'm not going to."

"You'd rather just be alone and miserable for the rest of your life instead of taking a risk on a really sweet guy who honestly likes you. I know that you're terrified and I get that but you can't just withdraw from the world because you had an ex who can't make up his mind. You can't live like that."

"Rose, I need you to just drop it. Please." She gave into that tone, she always did. She took one his hands in hers and curled up closer him as she doled food onto both their plates.

"You have to try the chicken; they put sesame oil in the sauce and it's amazing." She felt him relax beside her and give her a thankful look. It wasn't the last time they'd talk about this and Rose was willing to be as patient as she had to be.


	3. The Next Doctor

Title: The Next Doctor

Fandom: Doctor Who

Characters: Jake Simmonds, Rose Tyler, and Owen Harper.

Prompt: 076. Who

Word Count: 1,227

Rating: K

Summary: Jake is annoyed, Rose is smug, and they _were_ in need of a real doctor anyway. At least the new guy is cute.

Author's Notes: General Author's Notes. Set after 'Journey's End'.

The Next Doctor

"Oh and Jake, remember that it's Dr. Harper's first day today. He should be by in about ten minutes or so."

"Who?"

"Doctor Owen Harper, a while ago you said that we should probably have a physician on staff so I put out an ad out and hired someone. I ran it by Dad and he approved it so don't give me that 'Rose what were you thinking' face." Rose stared down her partner and Jake, to spite her, still gave her _that _look. "You were busy; I didn't want to bother you with another thing."

"I thought we were going to make decisions together. That's why your Dad put us both in charge of the field department."

"Technically we did make this decision together; you wanted to hire someone for medical and I found someone who fit the bill. That's called teamwork." She walked around the desk he was sitting at and sat on the edge of it, suddenly serious. "I'm sorry I didn't run it by you, Dad thought it was a really good idea so we just went with it. He's had several years experience in a hospital emergency room and was trained as a general practitioner. And had some great references on top of that. Try to be nice, he'll be here any minute."

"I'm always nice," Jake said defensively, busying himself organizing some of the papers on his desk. He looked up sharply at Rose. "Wait a minute, is he single?"

"I don't know, does it matter?" Rose was suddenly avoiding his eyes; she got up off the desk and walked over to hers.

"Rose, is he gay?" Jake asked, his tone stopping Rose in her tracks.

"I don't know; that's not exactly something I asked in the job interview." She said it too quickly.

"Rose," Jake said softly as he walked over to where she was standing, arms crossed with a stern expression on his face. "Please say this is different from when you hired me an assistant."

"Okay, I should have known better with Ianto but you didn't have to fire the poor man."

"I didn't fire him, I gave him a promotion; he now works for your Dad. That's a step up from doing my filing don't you think?"

"Alright, let's start with the fact that we're drowning in paperwork here," Rose stated, holding up three of her own folders off her desk for emphasis. "And we defiantly could have used the help. He was also gorgeous, looked amazing in that suit, and he liked you. I still don't see what the problem was."

"How about: I'm not dating and you know that. I'm not looking for a boyfriend and I'm not going to let someone hang around thinking he's going to get something that is never going to happen," Jake said firmly, taking the folders out of Rose's hands and placing them on his desk. "We can share some of this paperwork you know, you got dumped with it last week and I can do some of it. I have no idea why our wonderful U.N.I.T. director doesn't trust me enough to let me do some of the work."

"Now I know you don't think highly of U.N.I.T. but I'm sure you recognise the fact that you just drastically changed the subject. We were talking about you turning down Ianto Jones the sexy secretary."

"Rose, for the hopefully last time," Jake said exasperated and becoming frustrated. "I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm not looking for some kind of office romance. I'm not dating right now and I don't see myself wanting to anytime in the near future. Could you please respect that and stop trying to set me up with people? Especially people you've decided to hire to work here."

"I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy; I don't need a boyfriend to be happy."

"No, you'd much rather just go to a club every weekend and come home with a different guy." Now it was Jake not meeting her gaze; the concerned look in her big brown eyes made him uncomfortable. She wasn't judging him, she'd never do that, but after a couple years of being the best friend helping her with her guy problems he felt awkward when the roles were reversed. "I'm just worried about you. It's been half a year since-"

"I know how long it's been Rose. Can we just drop it?" he asked and Rose gave him a look. "Okay fine, but can we at least not talk about it at work? How about later at home? We could order take out, have a drink, and we can _talk,_" Jake said slowly, getting a small smile from Rose.

"Miss Tyler?" A voice called from the office door and Rose broke into one of her bright beaming smiles as she ran over and pulled the young man standing at the entrance into a hug. He looked flustered for a moment at the informality before returning her smile.

"I'm glad you're here Owen. I'd like you to meet Jake Simmonds, he's your other boss," Rose said happily, throwing an arm around Owen's shoulders and pulling him over to where Jake was standing stiffly by his desk.

"Doctor Owen Harper," the man introduced himself, holding out a hand.

"Yeah, I heard," Jake said quickly after he found his voice and put a small smile on his face as he shook the doctor's hand. He had a firm handshake; a surgeon's strong hands. "We converted one of the larger offices into a medical bay; I think we've included everything you're going to need but if there's something we've missed don't hesitate to tell either of us. I should be getting back to work, lots of paperwork to do." Rose didn't push him about his quick escape for which Jake was incredibly grateful. Instead she took Owen firmly by the arm that wasn't holding his medical bag and started to lead him over to the office Jake had pointed out.

"I can help you get settled in," Rose offered, still beaming but her eyes had gained a sly mischievousness to them that always made Jake nervous. The last time she had looked that way she'd convinced them to... No he wasn't going to think about that; that had been the old Torchwood. When Rose got like this John always said that it was just the Wolf coming out; though he'd never fully explained what he meant by that. Jake just hoped that Rose's Wolf side didn't casually let it slip that he was looking for a date.

Jake turned his monitor slightly so he could watch Rose and Owen through the glass wall of the new medical bay while still appearing to be doing work. Owen wasn't astonishingly handsome but Jake didn't find anything about him that made him unattractive either. True, that his mouth was slightly too wide for his face and his most attractive feature, his stunning hazel eyes, were hidden behind a pair of thick rimmed black glasses; but there was something about him that Jake couldn't quite put his finger on, whether it was the way he moved or spoke or the way every feature seemed to just _work_, that made Doctor Owen Harper fascinating.

Not that he'd ever let Rose know that he thought that.


End file.
